Flames place Michael Stone on unconditional waivers for purposes of buyout

For the second consecutive summer, Brad Treliving will be using the second buyout window to terminate a contract that he signed. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Flames have placed defenseman Michael Stone on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out his contract.

Treliving bought out UFA signing Troy Brouwer last August under similar circumstances.

Stone, 29, joined the Flames from the Arizona Coyotes via a trade deadline swap in 2017 that sent a pair of picks (one definite and one conditional) to the desert. He was signed to a three year contact on July 1 that year, with the signing giving the club a reliable right side depth option with a $3.5 million cap hit. Aside from a blood clot last season Stone has been precisely as advertised: there’s nothing flashy about his game, but he’s a player that never really hurts his team either.

But the emergence of Rasmus Andersson pushed Stone to the sidelines last season and, barring a trade of another defender, the math just didn’t add up for the Flames. Buying out Stone will clear $2.333 million off this year’s cap, enough to squeeze a bare-bones roster under the cap ceiling. There are likely more moves coming to provide ongoing cap flexibility, but buying Stone out at least gets the Flames compliance with the cap in the most basic manner possible.

Provided Stone clears waivers, his contract termination would become official after Friday at 10 a.m. MT. The buyout window lasts until Friday at 10 p.m. MT.